Messengers of death?

No need to go to Anthropologie to embrace the Owl trend. I've had good luck at Goodwill and estate sales:


The embroidered owl pic and the owls on the left were both less than $1.00.

I started decorating my office (and when I say "decorating" I mean "applying vinyl decals") with owls a couple years ago. They make me happy - they remind me of my grandma. The teeny tiny owls above were in the printer's drawer that hung in her house.

Then I met an old Indian woman who said to me "why would you decorate your creative space with owls? Owls are messengers of death."

Oh well. I'm taking my chances. If a creature is going to bring you bad news, it should at least be cute.