Problems with 4.4.1 – Error codes, etc.

I have several issues since the 4.4.1 update.

1. In the dashboard window I have this message:
Your backup folder is NOT writable
To correct this issue, make the folder /home/quilter2/public_html/wp-content/backup-db writable.

2. That seems to be related to this issue, which is a known issue with WordPress, and I have seen addressed on forums, but no correction has been made, as far as I can tell. I get this error message while trying to upload a photo:
Unable to create directory uploads/2016/01. Is its parent directory writable by the server?

Yes, I have checked, and the appropriate files are all writable.

3. I have a theme I bought from MyThemeShop named Emerald. WordPress also has a theme named Emerald. I know this, because I mistakenly updated to the current version once, and it was a completely different theme. My problem now is that, for some unknown reason, WordPress wants to default to the ugly WordPress theme. I deleted that theme, re-installed my theme folder, and it still defaulted to the ugly theme. I temporarily corrected this issue by saving the theme folder under a different name. Which led to:

4. With a reinstalled theme, my woo commerce shop won’t show up in the browser. I know this is probably because of the reinstall, which I shouldn’t have had to do.

I am not a computer genius, just a humble, little quilter trying to blog, so if anyone has suggestions that doesn’t require a PhD in computer technology, I’d really appreciate it!

Here’s my site: http://quilterchic.com

Thanks,
Cheryl