Update:
Apparently there's a bit of a glitch in the texture redrawing. Fenoe helped me out immensely by showing me how to get into the "advanced" settings and hitting Ctrl-Alt-R a BUNCH of times until it resolved.
What a pain.
S
Glad it worked out for you. It's amazing how unstable SL is, and yet we'll put up with it. Welcome to the future baby!