I was able to fix it. It required turning off the Transparent Container settings under the Styling Tab in Theme Options. I could still use help with #2:
“I also have a 2nd issue where two widgets in the same row are not lining up. I’d like for them to line up at the top but they appear to line up at the bottom.” These are on my homepage. The widgets are called “Postcards From Makeba” and “Words of Love”. They don’t line up at the top.
