I would love to have the default view of pictures to come up as Thumbnails all the time rather than list....is this possible?

I think you need to be more specific. What program are you using to view them? What version of XP? You might check out this: How to modify your folder view settings or to customize a folder

Sorry, thought that was as clear as a bell. When I open My Pictures the view of the files [photos] comes up list, but you have the choice of thumbnails, filmstrip, etc. I've seen this in every version of Windows I can remember for the last ten years at least.

Thanks for the link, I found an option I had never seen....apply to all folders....it worked, thanks again!

You were clear, but many people change the default program used to view pictures, so I wanted to make sure.

At any rate, I am glad you found a solution that works for you. Thanks for the followup.