diff --git a/plugin.program.autowidget/resources/lib/common/utils.py b/plugin.program.autowidget/resources/lib/common/utils.py
index afee6028..c915fedd 100644
--- a/plugin.program.autowidget/resources/lib/common/utils.py
+++ b/plugin.program.autowidget/resources/lib/common/utils.py
@@ -378,7 +378,6 @@ def _get_json_version():
     return (result['major'], result['minor'], result['patch'])
 
 def cache_files(path):
-    hash = hashlib.sha1(path).hexdigest()
     hash = hashlib.sha1(six.text_type(path)).hexdigest()
     cache_path = os.path.join(_addon_path, '{}.cache'.format(hash))
     version = _get_json_version()
@@ -391,7 +390,7 @@ def cache_files(path):
     files_json = call_jsonrpc(json.dumps(params))
     files = json.loads(files_json)
     write_json(cache_path, files)
-    expiry = cache_expiry(hash, add=hashlib.sha1(json.dumps(files_json)).hexdigest())
+    expiry = cache_expiry(hash, add=hashlib.sha1(files_json.encode('utf8')).hexdigest())
     log("Wrote cache (exp in {}s): {}".format(expiry-time.time(), hash), 'notice')
     return files
 
diff --git a/plugin.program.autowidget/resources/lib/refresh.py b/plugin.program.autowidget/resources/lib/refresh.py
index 8983289d..24fda655 100644
--- a/plugin.program.autowidget/resources/lib/refresh.py
+++ b/plugin.program.autowidget/resources/lib/refresh.py
@@ -255,11 +255,14 @@ def get_files_list(path, titles=None, widget_id=None):
 
 def queue_widget_update(widget_id):
     global _thread
+    new_thread = False
     if _thread is None or not _thread.is_alive():
         _thread = Worker()
         _thread.daemon = True
-    _thread.queue.put(widget_id)    
-    _thread.start()
+        new_thread = True
+    _thread.queue.put(widget_id)   
+    if new_thread: 
+        _thread.start()
 
 class Worker(threading.Thread):
     def __init__(self):