diff --git a/Persistence/Sources/Persistence/PersistentContainer.swift b/Persistence/Sources/Persistence/PersistentContainer.swift
index e632508..615fe1a 100644
--- a/Persistence/Sources/Persistence/PersistentContainer.swift
+++ b/Persistence/Sources/Persistence/PersistentContainer.swift
@@ -19,8 +19,9 @@ public class PersistentContainer: NSPersistentContainer, @unchecked Sendable {
     
     public private(set) lazy var backgroundContext: NSManagedObjectContext = {
         let context = NSManagedObjectContext(concurrencyType: .privateQueueConcurrencyType)
-        // todo: should the background context really be parented to the view context, or should they both be direct children of the PSC?
-        context.parent = self.viewContext
+        // the background context needs to be parented directly to the PSC
+        // if it's parented to the viewContext, it blocks the viewContext (and potentially the main thread) when it needs to look things up
+        context.persistentStoreCoordinator = self.persistentStoreCoordinator
         return context
     }()
     
diff --git a/Reader/Widgets/WidgetHelper.swift b/Reader/Widgets/WidgetHelper.swift
index 1ffb686..ed282cc 100644
--- a/Reader/Widgets/WidgetHelper.swift
+++ b/Reader/Widgets/WidgetHelper.swift
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import Persistence
 import OSLog
 
 private let logger = Logger(subsystem: "net.shadowfacts.Reader", category: "WidgetHelper")
+private let signposter = OSSignposter(logger: logger)
 
 struct WidgetHelper {
     private init() {}
@@ -26,7 +27,9 @@ struct WidgetHelper {
             req.sortDescriptors = [NSSortDescriptor(key: "published", ascending: false)]
             req.fetchLimit = 32
             req.predicate = NSPredicate(format: "read = NO")
+            let state = signposter.beginInterval("fetch")
             var items = (try? context.fetch(req)) ?? []
+            signposter.endInterval("fetch", state)
             
             var prioritizedItems: [Item] = []