Your action was pretty severe - cutting the vine down was likely unnecessary. FWIW, there are far more beneficial insects than there are bad guys out there and unless you had noticed damage to the plant from these critters, they may have been just temporary visitors. Regardless, most smaller insects can be disuaded from taking up residence simply by hosing them off the plant regularly with water. This works very effectively with aphids, which is possibly what you saw (although the time of year seems off for them). Over-fertilizing, producing a lot of fresh, lush, new growth seems to attract these beasts. Clematis climb using vining leaf stems or petioles - as these are pretty small, they need something small to attach to. You might try stringing some high test fishing line on your post. This is pretty much invisible and is very strong, yet small enough for the tenrils to grasp.

WHAT- oh nooooo -Yes i cut of the top of the stems. So in another words i killed it. So no more will come from the bottom? augh

Thank you all for the responses. I did wait about 8 minutes even though the recipe says 5, so that was the problem. I know because I made it again (just had to see if I could do it! I will freeze a lot of it)(found a different recipe, but for the same size pan) and turned it out the instant it came out the oven. It came out perfectly! I have made it in a cast iron skillet when I was teenager at my grandmothers house... I don't own one, but maybe it's time to consider buying one! The ugly one tasted OK, but it was dry... I just pour milk over it when I want a piece. Gldno1, I also tried to stop baking (and stop attending this forum) in an effort to lose weight. I was still just as fat, just got sad on top of it. I'd rather be plump and happy than skinny and miserable! I enjoy baking (and this forum) and cannot stop!

Bleigh - you obviously have had a a bunch of very big problems in your life beyond your control. Yet you continue to do the right thing, pay your bills the best you can, and after all the crap you have been through, you still seem like a genuinely nice and happy person. I totally respect you for that. I apologize if I came off earlier sounding really cold and unsympathetic to people in this situation. The types of people who keep trying their best to get ahead and still keep getting deeper and deeper in trouble no matter what - then yes, I feel bad for them, and maybe foreclosure could be in their best interest. I have just seen way too many people who are very obviously making the wrong CHOICES, and those are the people I find a hard time feeling sorry for. I see it over and over again. The people on food stamps, yet they have money for beer, cigarettes and lottery tickets. The people who haven't worked in months or even years - and they aren't looking for work - they would rather suck up as much unemployment as they can. The people who claim disability when they are obviously quite capable of doing SOMETHING - but its easier to mooch off of others. I have had a lot of bad times myself, but I also realize just how lucky I truly am. I would think if I had some REALLY hard times, I would always handle it and always make it back on top - but I could also be wrong. If I were unfortunate enough to have some REAL ISSUES like the poor people in Joplin, Missouri, or during Katrina so many years ago - who knows, maybe I would be a lazy good for nothing homeless person right now. I can see how big events like this can ruin lives. I know I should appreciate my situation a little better and think of this more often. One of my family members fell onto some really hard times. Partially no fault of their own, but also because of CHOICES they made. They got a divorce after only 5 years - you could say that wasn't their fault because maybe the other person was the moron. But then again, yes you can put some blame there for picking the wrong person to begin with - and there WERE some trouble signs before they got married. They also ran into trouble with medical bills. They both worked very low salary jobs, had 2 children, no insurance, and they maxed their credit cards out paying the medical bills. Really tough luck? Yes and no. Their CHOICE not to carry medical insuance and their CHOICE to have children before they were ready - both emotionally and financially. And sorry, but plain stupid to max your credit cards out when you have absolutely no hope of paying them off - STUPID. They had bill collectors constantly calling them, they were constantly given money by other family members, and it made no difference. After the divorce, their parents allowed them to move back in with them (rent free) for 7 years. This was the time for them to save their money and pay off their bills, or maybe even train for a higher paying job. Did any of that happen? No. It was party time - they bought all kinds of music CDs, video games, went out to eat all the time, went to concerts, got cool cell phones with cool ring tones, bought themselves cool custom wheels for the car - they did lots of stupid things. Very aggrevating. It embarrassed me that one of my own family members was like this - because they sure weren't raised that way. This is the way a lot of these types are - when you help them, you truly aren't helping them, and they take advantage of you. I am sorry to lump the better people in with the worse people, but these are the types of people I picture most often when it comes to foreclosures, welfare, whatever. You come to a point where you stop feeling sorry for them, stop trying to help them, and you realize they deserve what they get. OK then - I guess all that had nothing to do with buying/selling houses, but I just wanted to let you know where I was coming from. I truly wish you the very best of luck in everything you do. I hope it gets better. I hope your husband will think about taking a job closer to home - even if it means a pay cut. Commuting that far is NOT worth it. All the money he thinks he is making by doing that he is actually losing by paying extra gas, higher insurance, more wear and tear on the car, more wear and tear on himself - you get the picture. OK I am finally done. Good luck. Take care.