Mittens are the new spikes on a phal, Ursula. They look like little mittens at first.
Empress, I grow Cattleya almost exclusively. They bloom all year for me in Florida. You might be able to keep them alive and possibly see a random bloom now and then with your culture and climate… but it would be a struggle during the winter as they really need a lot of sun to bloom. SVO orchids has some very nice compact window sill sized plants . Hybrids seem to be more forgiving than species .
