Today, I set the first row of the back wall. I even did that thing where I used the trimmed off piece to go around the corner to the next wall.

This row took extra time because I had to make that U-shaped cut-out in the middle piece of the back wall to go around the smaller niche. That's not a big deal for experienced tile folks, but it was a first time thing for me. It came out OK. My change of plan for how I trimmed the niches blew up my plan for ending on a grout line, so I will have to make a smaller U-shaped cut in the tile that goes on the top side of that niche. Oh, well. Also, while I was adjusting the spacers and fitting the large tile, I was too aggressive and pulled off the trim piece under the sill on that small niche. As it turned out, that made it easier to set the large tile, and it was easy to place the trim piece after that.

Obviously, setting 3 or 4 tiles in a day is not going to cut it for any kind of sane timeline. I have been mixing thinset in five pound batches. By the second batch, I had achieved the often-mentioned peanut butter consistency. Using up that small bucket of thinset presented a natural stopping point. I'm going to double my recipe and create ten pound batches, which will at least give me more progress before my laziness kicks in. It also helps out with running out of thinset just slightly before having enough for a big tile. That still might happen, but not more than half as often.

The tile on the right end wall is slightly more than half a tile. On the next row, both tiles in that corner will be full tiles. I'll also be able to work my way up the half of the left-end that is nearer the back wall.