[SOLVED] What's the story with widgets?

Can anyone explain to me what it is that makes widgets behave so weirdly?

I'll make some simple change in the Atahualpa Theme Options -- maybe put a solid 2px border around the Widget Container. I'll save the changes and switch to a browser tab with the site loaded.

I'll re-load the page and maybe the border does NOT appear around the widgets ...maybe it does. I'll click on another page on the menu bar and when the new page loads, maybe the widget border will be there, maybe not. Maybe it will appear when I re-load the page ...maybe not the first time I refresh, maybe the third time?!

Something's going on that's decidedly non-digital. I've heard people (even Flynn!) say things about widgets getting "stuck" in a theme. (???).