On a less serious note . . .

I LOVE the reference to "Spies Like Us"!

Chevy: "What is our final objetive?"

CIA Guy:  "That information is given on a need to know...

Well, speak for yourself, but I'm not that dated.

I caught the Munsters on re-runs in the 80's.

You think that was a random choice of address?

The Munsters of course! Oh that Lily!

Thanks for your help. John & Pam.

Your right it doesn't have to be hairy. I got a bit carried away with the while loop.

Have a good one.

Thanks guys!  I'll give these a try.

Thanks all for your help.  After further review and research all that was needed was to run:

sp_recompile against a few tables.  Worked like a charm.

I had a simiar issue about a year ago where a query was running poorly on a new box.  I thought that surely my fire breathing new system would be...

Hi all,  Thanks for your responses.  They have been very helpful.

A few clarifications.

1) Each item has a variable number of colors, and you don't know the # of colors beforehand

2)...

Thanks to all who replied.  I really appreciate your help, time & energy devoted to my issue.

I will go back and test all of these solutions and let you know...