@nevj what I meant was having to live with a “home” icon next to Desktop, which is a folder, and as such, should have a folder icon next to it.
I think by doing as you suggested, getting all my user data out of home and onto an external partition supports the original intent of keeping home free from user stuff and I for one am glad to have finally achieved this. 
Thanks for all your help in getting it done.
Sheila