Cmd and has changed what it does

Question

For quite a while now I've used Cmd and +/= and Cmd and - to increase and decrease the font size of a text window.  This week it has changed and I'm puzzled.  When I hold Cmd and press the =/+ keyThe bottom inch (on my iMac 27") of my display shifts up and an new row of Icons appear.  The Dock is now above this new row and the Dock works fine.  The new row has icons labeled in order: Widgets, Address Book, Calculator, Devonthink jot, Dictionary, ESPN, Flight Tracker, iCal, Movies, Ski Report, Stickies, Stocks, Tile Game, Translation, Unit Converter, Weather, Web Clip, and World Clock.  Also a bunch of (8) circles (white with black centers with a white X in the center - like a close icon) appear randomly around my display. 
The new bar of Icons look to be possibly convenient but where did they come from?
By experimenting, I found that if I hold Cmd and Shift then press the =/+ key, I get the larger font.  Cmd with the - key still reduces the font. 
Here is what I see:

Answer 1

More Information.  I was struck by how the list of things I made in the first note above, resembled Widgets in the Dashboard.  I have the Dashboard configured to be one of the spaces to make it easy to get to.  I went to look at it.  In the lower left corner of the Dashboard is a circled Plus sign.  If I click that, I get the same bar of icons across the bottom of the screen.
On a regular space the icons didn't do anything when I clicked them.  On the Dashboard they bring up the named widget.
When the bar appeared on a regular space, the menu was shifted off the top of the screen.
Weirdest of all, now that I've worked with the widgets in the Dashboard, Cmd and +/= no longer brings up the widget icon bar but, as before, now enlarges the font of the current text window or picture or movie.
Very weird.  This has now moved from being a request for help to one for possibly clarification of something pretty confusing.