Sometimes it reads as if the creation and various other man made objects are given far more veneration than the Creator garners even a hint of worship.
I understand completely. That I think is one of the tragic consequences of the Reformation. Let me try to explain.
It used to be that sacrifice was the way we gave adoration to God. Not just prayer, but primarily sacrifice. Cain and Abel made sacrificial offerings. Abraham the same. And when the Romans were trying to smoke out the Christians, they didn't just say "pray to Minerva", they tried to make them sacrifice to Minerva.
Now Christianity had sacrifices and altars as well, since the very beginning. The offering was of course not bulls or goats but the Eucharist, but it was still regarded as a true and proper sacrifice. This changed with Martin Luther. The only kind of offering he would admit was the sacrifice of praise and worship. So what happened in Protestantism was a total abandonment of the idea of the Eucharistic sacrifice in favor of personal prayer.
This is why we do not see eye to eye on veneration of the saints anymore. Because the Protestant, whose only offering to God is one of prayer, sees the Catholic praying to saints and honoring them, and thinks "Aha! They give to the saints what they should be giving only to God! That's idolatry!"
But he forgets that he only is looking at half the picture.
To us, prayer is just a method of communication. I pray to Our Lady because she doesn't have a PO Box or a telephone number. I do know where she lives though. She's in God's house, and the Master of that house hears all of my prayers. So if I pray, I trust that God will hear my prayers, and forward them along to her. That's it. Do I kiss images of Mary? Of course. I'd also kiss a photo of my wife. And as for the bowing down stuff, well heck, I bow down to lots of people. I've bowed to a lady when I am feeling particularly chivalrous. These are gestures of respect and honor--not divinity.
Quite simply, reverence is not adoration. Adoration is offering sacrifice to God. And our sacrifice--the Eucharist--is never, ever, ever, offered to the saints. Check the text of the Mass if you like. The Mass is always, always, always, offered to God and God alone. It's never offered to Mary, or St. Joseph, or anyone else. Just God.
So there is an immense gulf between how a Catholic worships God and honors Mary. Infinite, even.