Thanks for the muffins :-)!
Hmmm, not 100% certain about the number of struts replaced - my husband thinks it probably was both in the pair since our mechanic said he was replacing strutS (the plural), but we aren’t absolutely sure. We’re taking our car back in to be looked at tomorrow morning, armed with the excellent suggestions we’ve gained here, and we’ll ask about the strut question as well as these other things. Many thanks, knowledgeable car people!