"Leggo my Eggo" and other useful tips for entertaining

Entertaining is something I enjoy. I know that sounds a bit, well, tipped BUT read on...
I adore thinking up ways to use things I have in the house, around the house or growing near the house. I like to think up unique uses for mundane items or to take something plain and make it fun OR to take something beautiful and make it beautiful-er. Yes. "Beautiful-er" is a word! The subject of "beautiful-er" leads me to flowers and candying them. Now, I probably lost a few of you when I stated I enjoy entertaining but come back and read on...
I have been to Paris, France a number of times and each time I am inspired. Walking about and looking in the boulangerie windows and breathing in the aromas of freshly baked bread while you nibble on your third exquisite pastry. Ahhh, Paris... While I am on the subject of boulangeries, the mere way a baker can mold something as mundane and (lets be honest) boring as flour, water and salt into something beautiful and nourishing is a great talent. To make bread is a major feat! You place flour and water into a bowl, hope for the best and wait, patiently. After some time, usually hours, you have a starter. You add more flour and water and salt until you coax the mixture into a dough. Next? Well you beat the daylights out of it of course! In laymen terms, this is called kneading. An aerobic feat not for the faint of heart. Then more patience is required and time. (Time and patience should be listed on the ingredients list of all bread recipes.) After several more hours you shape, reshape and finally, after your children have gone through college, you cut the suckers open (slash the tops to allow for further expansion) and then you bake. Some time later, you cool the baked bread and just as you are ready to keel over from starvation, you get to eat. Sound fun? It is! Arduous and requiring commitment yes, but fun and rewarding non-the-less.
Like bread baking, entertaining requires time and patience. Like bread baking, a person is not just born knowing how to do it. Entertaining is a skill. Entertaining is a talent. See where I'm going with this? Like bread baking, entertaining can nourish and invigorate a person. When I entertain, I enjoy doing little things that show my guests I care and value their time and company. One of the things I like to do is candy flowers and flower petals. Candying flowers is a relaxing and rewarding activity. (Yes you read that correctly, relaxing activity; that is not a typo.) When stored airtight, candied flowers and petals last several weeks and are an inexpensive an natural way to use the bounty from our gardens (or our unsuspecting neighbor's gardens) and to share that bounty with others. I hope you give them a try. Just click on my "RECIPES" page for directions.