My desktop Recycle Bin has disappeared - why, and how do I get it back?

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It wasn't my recycle bin that disappeared from my desktop, it was the Google gadget date/time clock that disappeared. With the same stroke, the Google search line on my taskbar disappeared. I had just clicked on the Google icon to see if I could ask an unrelated question when both these items, which I use constantly, disappeared.
I spent nearly an hour trying to ask Google online what happened and how to get them back, but there was no option to ask an open-ended question that wasn't already listed in their Help sections. Can anyone tell me now to get them back? I would think re-downloading them would just take up more space, so I just want to find them. Thanks in advance for your help.

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