HOW to make friends from scratch?

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No I'm not seeking a recipe here.

I'm wondering for someone like me who works at home and moved a year ago, how do you make new friends - what things can you join and what do you say to get to know someone better, when is it the right time to invite someone from a group setting to do something one on one? How do I know if someone in a group that I might join was being friendly like they wanted to be friends?

I do ok with internet interactions, and my family who already have known me my whole life, but as I get older it is much harder to just make friends.

I can answer one part of your question - how do you make new friends - what things can you join:

join a place of worship
volunteer in your community for a non-profit that holds some interest for you (American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, Boys & Girls Club, etc.)
take classes at a community center
join the YMCA
volunteer or take free computer classes at the local public library
join a community walking or running club
look for people with similar interests at meetup dot com
join freecycle dot org, might sound strange, but after giving and receiving from the same people after a while sometimes people strike up friendships with others who work at home
host an international college student for the week or two before classes start, and school breaks. Sometimes they just need a place to stay while the dorms are closed/someone to spend holidays with. Contact your local college international student office.

As to what to say and how to to know and the right time, etc. I'm clueless on that. I'm lucky I still have a few good friends I made in college who became my chosen family. I don't generally make new friends. Hope someone else comes along with some good suggestions. -Safia