ok … I unpublished the last post that I had published before I noticed the problem … and tested the site. The sidebar is there … went back and republished the post and the sidebar is still there.
Hopefully it sticks … thanks for the help.
thanks WPyogi …
I deactivated all the plugins … and checked and it was working again. Then reactivited the plugins that and it is still working.
Yay!
Cynthia